[LINK] Renewables providing 40% of European electricity’

[Stephen Loosley]

‘Renewables smash new record providing 40% of European electricity’

The ‘highest quarterly figure on record’ was achieved while the share of fossil fuels dropped to 33%, according to a new report

By Dimitris Mavrokefalidis  Tuesday 14 July 2020
https://www.energylivenews.com/2020/07/14/renewables-smash-new-record-providing-40-of-european-electricity/


Renewable energy broke another record for the European electricity mix in the first quarter of 2020, reaching a 40% share, the highest quarterly figure on record.

That’s according to the latest quarterly report on European Electricity Markets, which suggests renewables had a very successful quarter, expanding by 38TWh year-on-year and becoming the least affected energy source by the pandemic.

At the same time, the electricity generated by fossil fuels fell from 38% in the first quarter of 2019 to 33% during the same period this year, with coal generation alone dropping to 30%.

The European Commission’s report also estimates the shift away from fossil fuels caused the carbon footprint of electricity generation in the member states to decrease by 20%.

It also notes demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continued to grow as new EV registrations doubled and almost 25,000 new public charging points were added in the first three months of 2020.

Findings of the report also show electricity consumption in Europe declined by approximately 3% year-on-year, a development which is mostly attributed to warm winter conditions and restricted economic activity due to the Covid-19 crisis.